Stardust Frontier 2: Cinderella Duet
by Demon Lord of the Round Table
Summary: The integration of Frontier and Neo Domino City has begun, but old foes threaten to tear apart this fragile setting. Can the power of song unite unlikely allies to combat this new threat? Macross Frontier X Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's X Uchuu Senkan Yamato X Real Life
1. Prologue: Transferences

_**Prologue: Transferences**_

Aki Izayoi laid sprawled out on a grassy knowl, taking in the peace and quiet that had once again returned to Neo Domino City. A collection of construction cranes were sprawled throughout the city. Some worked fervently to repair the damages done to the city during the dimensional merger, while others made progress on remoivng the massive security dome from Macross Frontier's Island 1, which had landed in the bay only a few days prior.

Although, it seemed some residents were allergic to this new-found peace and quiet, as Wyvee-tan flew by at extremely low altitude, being tailed by a pair of VF-171EX Nightmare Plus variable fighters launched from Battle Frontier.

"Looks like she forgot the passcode to identify herself as friendly... Again..." Aki sighed as she stood up. Since the incident, Wyvee-tan had proven to be a high-interest to many scientists. While she was a duel spirit, because of the high exposure to fold-wave energy she was exposed to during the fold from Neo Domino City to Frontier, the energy had become interlaced into her system, allowing her to perform folds in between the duel monster realm and human realm without the aid of a fold booster. Despite this scientifical interest in her, many of the higher-ups, including Commodore Perry, the Commanding Officer of Battle Frontier, remained unknowing of her prescense, hence why it was not uncommon for interception squadrons to be sent after the "small, high speed object" picked up on radar, which was usually her.

"Vermillion 1 to Unidentifed Flying Object, you are trespassing in a Frontier-controlled no-fly zone. Provide the proper security measure response or we will be forced to shoot you down."

"SMS Acela Squadron Leader, Lt. Cmdr. Akmola to New U.N Spacy military units," Johan stated as his VF-25S pulled up behind the pair of Nightmares. "Target is a Category D under protection of Strategic Military Services by order of the Office of Frontier Presidency. Disengage immediately."

"Understood, sir. Disengaging." The pair of Nightmares banked to the left, returning to Battle Frontier. Johan switched the frequencies on his radio.

"Forgot the passcode, again, huh?" Johan sighed. "For being half-machine, you sure are forgetful..."

"My _body _is half-machine, but my heart and mind are human..." Wyvee sighed in response. "I heard that forgetfulness is a common human attribute..."

"True, but your timing couldn't have been worse... The Nightmare Plus may be a "modded catch-up bird" until the Messiah is done with the final bits of testing and mass-produced by Frontier, but it can still fuck you up pretty good..."

"I think I could've taken them..."

"Oh, really? And what would you tell Gry when he sees you all battered up? It may be a bit odd, but I know what going through his mind... kind of... I mean, whenever my daughter, Kotori, came home even with the slightest little scratch on her face... Well, I shouldn't go that far into it, but you get my drift, right? He honestly cares for you, although, granted, he's not the best at showing it..."

"Awe, is the hard-ass Squad leader forming a soft spot?" Crow jeered.

"Acela 4-"

"Shut up, I know..."

Johan sighed. "Acela Squadron, return to base. You too, Wyvee."

* * *

Saturday was by far Leo's favorite day of the week. Free from the schedules of school, he was free to sleep in as long as he wanted before scurrying off to watch the riding duels over at the Kaiba Dome. Luna was already eating her lunch when she noticed Leo wander into the bathrrom to brush his teeth for the morning. A few minutes passed and Luna continued to munch on her sandwhich, when Leo bolted from the bathroom back to the closet where he kept he kept his duel disk and deck.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Luna inquired as she watched her twin brother rifle through the closet's contents. Leo didn't respond. "Leo... Leo! ..."

"Aha! I knew it!" Leo proclaimed. He ran over to Luna, holding out his left forearm while clutching a card in his right hand. "See, Luna? You're not the only one who's special anymore, because now I'm an Oracle! I found this mark on my arm while brushing my teeth and this card proves it!" Leo held out the card he had clutched in his right hand. It was Johan's _Space Battleship Yamato_.

"Leo, I know you want to be a Signer or Oracle or something, but stealing someone's card and drawing a mark on your arm with a Sharpie is going _way_ too far. I'm calling Johan so you can give him his card back." Luna reached out and began to dial the phone.

"No, Luna, I'm serious!" Leo protested. "I didn't even know I had this card until now and it's not like I can just wash this mark off!"

"Leo, a Sharpie is a _permanent _marker. Of course you can't just _wash it off_."

"_SMS Headquarters. This is Petty Officer Wellington. How may I help you, sir or ma'am?_"

"Yes, my name is Luna. May you please connect me with Lt. Cmdr. Akmola?"

"_One moment please._" Leo stared dumbstruck, startled that his sister had actaully gone through with the call. Luna stared back at Leo, a look of disappointment adorning her face. "_Excuse me, ma'am? Lt. Cmdr. Akmola is currently preoccupied at the moment in a discussion with Lt. Cmdr. Lee. May I take a message?"_

"No, I'd prefer to talk to him as soon as possible. It's urgent."

* * *

"Oi, get off your soapbox, Ozma," Johan protested. "Ranka is one helluva duelist. I mean, she's one of only maybe 3 people that have been able to successfully perform an Accel Synchro. You can't just restrict that kind of raw dueling talent."

"I got off my soapbox for singing because it became her _career_. This is merely a _game_."

"This is much more than just a game. On the planet we just landed on, dueling is the primary form of bartering and entertainment. I _guarantee_ you, that at some point or another, you will have to build a deck and duel someone for one reason or another."

"You're full of shit, Johan, because I'll be damned if I ever play this game. And I won't let Ranka be sucked into this nonsense. Brera, you're with me on this right?" Brera merely shrugged,

"If that's what Ranka wants, then I'll protect her wishes..." the cyborg mused.

"Not helping on this matter..."

"And to boot," Johan added. "Ranka has been cho-"

"Excuse, sir," Petty Officer Wellington interrupted. "You have a call." Johan sighed and snatched the cordless phone out of Wellington's hand.

"Hello?"

"_Hello, Johan? It's Luna. Apparently Leo stole your Space Batt-_"

"He didn't steal it. Aphos has been some weird shit this morning. '_Space Battleship Yamato_' has been transferred to Leo, I've been given control of a new warship called '_Battlestar Galactica_', and now I'm trying to convince Ozma to pull his head out of his ass and let Ranka duel because Aphos apparently chose _her _as the new keep of _'Macross Quarter_'..."


	2. Chpt 1: Joint Assault

_**Chapter 1: Joint Assault**_

A few forgotten souls were the only occupents of this forgotten void, neither allowed to die or return to life. A world worse than Hell. This was where they were destined to rot until the end of eternity... or so they thought.

"Feelings of revenege plague your existance..." An outside entity spoke.

"Always I was foiled by them... A little recognition was all I wanted..." the first soul replied.

"A perfect world was what I strived for... Until they destroyed it because of their little ideals..." the second added.

"A dream for something new... Until they smashed that dream..." the final soul concluded.

"Your hearts' content is strong," the outsider mused. "You show pure hatred for those who have stolen your dreams and smashed your desires. Become my envoys of destruction, and you shall have a chance for your revenge. Become... my Kadun Oracles."

"With pleasure..." The three replied in unison.

* * *

Ranka slowly thumbed through Alto's former deck, which was now her's. Alto's SMS-themed deck was the only deck that could work with _Macross Quarter_, so he had gladly turned it over to her. Honestly, dueling wasn't really his thing, so cheering Ranka on from the sidelines as "Fan #1" seemed more appealing.

"I don't get it, Alto-kun..." Ranka mused as she furrowed her brow in frustration. "How again did I do that Accel Synchro thing?"

"I'm not sure..." Alto replied with a shrug. "You were the one who pulled it off, not me..."

"Maybe it was as you say... _Thinketh not and thou shalt be the blossom. Thinketh and thou shalt not be..."_

Alto chuckled. "That's actually my father's line... And I would say that it would fit perfectly, except you are the blossom in my eyes regardless..." Ranka blushed and glanced down at the floor.

"Awe, how cute..."

"Eh? Gry-kun?" Ranka slightly jumped, startled by the fact they weren't alone. Gry stared at Ranka's left arm, noticing the dull crimson outline of Macross Quarter.

"What the hell you want?" Alto demanded.

"Came to see if the rumors were true... That Aphos had chosen a new Oracle for the Quarter... I see they weren't wrong..."

"More like you're just a bit behind..." Aki mused from the shadows. She gestured at the bandage wrapped around Gry's head from the crash during the duel with Emi. "Are those maybe wrapped a bit too tight? Everyone else has known for certain since early this morning..."

"Well, I'm sorry... All I've been doing since I got out of the hospital was keep Wyvee out of trouble... She's worse than an overly-curious 5 year old on crack..."

"I hold no pity for you... She's your card to control..."

"I know, I know... I think I just need a break from all of this babysitting..." A lightbulb lit in Gry's head. "How about a little test for the new Oracle? I challenge Ranka to a duel..."

"But, I- I..." Ranka stammered.

"What was it about that blossom?" Alto asked to seemingly no one, trying to send Ranka a clue. Ranka paused for moment in thought. Gry could tell something sank in and activated his duel disk.

"_Thinketh not and thou shalt be the blossom... Thinketh and thou shalt not be... Just let my feelings lead the way and I will fly! Due-" _A loud beeping noise blared from Alto's phone,cutting Ranka off mid-word.

"Dammit, what now," Alto swore as he glared at the screen.

'Assemble all members of Acela Squadron, Skull Squadron, Signers and Oracles on SMS parade grounds for squadron designation and reclassification ceremony at this time.' scrolled along the screen of Alto's phone.

"Looks like we'll have to postpone this duel... We've all been summoned for some ceremony it seems..." Alto mused, wondering what all this could be about.

* * *

"Recent activities conducted by SMS forces have brought upon a new meaning to the term 'Multi-Role'," Capt. Wilder spoke. "Therefore, after much discussion with SMS owner, Mr. Richard Birla, we have decided to take a more direct approach and openly embrace the culture of this new world, and thus have expanded SMS's... _services_, you could say. Today, we initiate the first 2 "Dueling Squadrons", to be dubbed the "Joint Assault Squadrons".

Formerly the 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron, "Acela Squadron" will now be known as the 1st Joint Assault Squadron. Acela Leader remains to be Lt. Cmdr. Johan Akmola. New members are Acela 2, Warrant Officer Gry Bruyn, who just passed his entrance exam. Acela 3 will be Ensign Brian McGlew.

The 2nd Joint Assault Squadron, to be formed today, will go by the name "Crimson Squadron". Crimson Leader will be now_ Lieutenant _Yusei Fudo. Crimson 2 is Ensign Jack Atlas. Crimson 3 is Ensign Crow Hogan. And finally, Crimson 4 will be Warrant Officer Aki Izayoi, who has just passed her entrance exam as well. All hands, give our new squadrons a congratulatory round of applause." A low round of applause filled the air.

"Crimson Leader..." Yusei mused as he stared down at his forearm where the mark of the Crimson Dragon's wings was scarred into his skin. The squadron... rather, _his _squadron must had been named "Crimson Squadron", and composed entirely of Signers, because of the Crimson Dragon. Was it possible that the Crimson Dragon had manipulated some things because he was not entirely trusting of all of the Oracles? Yusei would have to wait and see.

Capt. Wilder raised the microphone to speak again, but paused at the sight of Petty Officer Wellington running across the field towards them. Wellington slid to a stop, out of breath with his hands on his knees. In one of his hands he grasped a piece of paper with some notes quickly scribbled on it. Capt. Wilder took the note, glancing over the messing handwriting.

"Attention, all hands!" Capt. Wilder announced over the microphone. "An unidentified duelist has been reported on Route 84 west-bound and is causing severe mayhem by causign their opponent's to crash. Sector Security officials have asked us to step in. Acela Squadron, Crimson Squadron, deploy immediately!"

"Acela Squadron on station," Johan reported as the three VF-25's fell into formation over the interstate that connected Neo Domino City and Frontier. "Delta 1, are you sure it was a duelist who came through here? Looks more like a tank... Nothing but burning cars and craters in the asphault."

"Target is definately a duelist," Monica replied from the Quarter's bridge. "All damage is reported to have been caused by solid-vision monsters and the interstate's duel control system has been activated by this person multiple times in the last hour, but their D-wheel isn't registered, so we can't identify them."

"Dammit..." Johan sighed as he changed to the squadron's radio frequency. "Alright, Acela Squadron, just confirmed that target is definately a duelist, so keep your eyes peeled for a Duel Monster attacking cars..."

"What if Kuribon attacked a car?" Acela 2 asked.

"Little pipsqueak would probably just bounce off..." Acela 3 commented.

"If it attacked in the first place," Johan chuckled. "It'd probably be too afraid of the scolding Luna would give it..."

"Yeah, sounds more like it."

"Acela 2, here. Long range optics are picking up explosions."

"Roger that. I'm picking up the same," Johan replied. "Play time is over, boys. Time to get to work." Acela threw on their afterburners, quickly advancing on the target. As they came closer, the clear view of a D-wheel became visible. Hovering just off to right of the D-wheel was the imposing image of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon.

"Acela 2 to Acela Leader... Sir, am I the only one getting that feeling of deja vu?"

"No, you're not... I'm going in to check it out..." Johan's VF-25 descended and transformed into Gerwalk configuration, hovering just a foot off of the top of the mottled asphault. Johan flipped a switch, redirecting his comms to the external speakers.

"SMS Acela Aquadron Leader, Lt. Cmdr. Johan Akmola to unidentified due-"

"Screw your introduction bullshit, Johan, I know who you are," the duelist replied in an aggravated manner.

"That voice..." Gry stammered. "It can't be..."

"Now, now, Gry. Don't be that way." The duelist removed their helmet, revealing their unmistakable long, curly blonde hair. Gry and Johan knew then for sure it was no other than Emi. "Just because I beat you in our last duel doesn't mean you have to treat me like I'm dead."

"But that's the thing," Johan interjected. "The verdict of your second court martial was death. I watched as the firing squad..."

"It is true, my flesh died that day...But my spirit lived on and the fires in my heart continued to burn... Apparently these fires were strong enough to attract the attention of something higher, and then your good ole buddy, Aphos, payed me a visit... He gave me a second chance at life as a Kadun..."

"Goddamn bitch... Can't just accept things as they are, can you? I'm ending this now, once and for all. Prepare to duel!" The duel disk built into Johan's EX-Gear activated, syncing with the VF-25's central computer. The main status screen changed from mission data and mecha status to a duel field. Solid-Vision projectors mounted above the engine intakes winked on. Johan's VF-25 had just become the most heavily armed, state-of-the-art D-Wheel to take to the streets.

Skull Squadron, Crimson Squadron and Brera fell into formation above the interstate, watching Acela pursue their enemy on the blacktop below. Right on their tail was Kanaria's VB-6 Koenig Monster, shuttling along people curious as to how well the Joint Assault squadrons would hold out. Leo desperately pressed his face against the window, trying to see as much a possible.

"Sorry, Johan," Emi giggled, "but I don't have time to screw around. I think I'll take care of all of your now without even a proper duel. Ignoring all rules, I'll duel thin air and play a Trap the turn it was set. Now, go, _Key to the Infinite Dimensions_! Using Aphos' power, all living things within this Trap's radius will be "Removed from Play" and spread throughout various dimensions. The Signers, Hikari Oracles, and SMS pests all in one shot... Hahaha, oh, my fellow Kadun will be _so_ pleased... Have fun! I'm sure we will as we destroy your home molecule by molecule!"

A black energy wave exploded outwards from Emi's D-Wheel, engulfing the surrounding Valkyries. As the wave dissipated, the Valkyries wobbled and tumbled from the sky, devoid of pilots. Advanced energy-absorbing armor crumpled as the fighters struck the ground, rolling end over end.

"Delta 1 to all deployed squadrons... Acela? ... Skull? ... Crimson? ... Antares? ... Anyone?"


	3. Chpt 2: Yakh De Culcha

_**Chapter 2: Yakh De Culcha**_

[Author's Note: For this chapter, translations will be in brackets following the Japanese phrase.]

Alto slowly awoke from his sprawled-out position on the floor. His entire body ached and his head spun as if he'd just been taken for a ride in a laundry dryer. A bright light filled his vision causing him to make feeble attempts to shield his eyes in his dizziness.

"Oi, you awake?" a not so unfamiliar voice asked.

"... Huh? ... Oh... Yeah..." Alto groggily replied. He blinked his eyes repeatedly, clearing his vision. The light that had blinded him had been a flashlight held by the stranger. The stranger clicked the light off and held out his hand to help him up. Alto took his hand, and was quickly yanked into a standing position.

Alto glanced around the room. It was a very simply furnished bedroom, with plain whitewash walls. A bed sat in one corner, with a desk, dresser and display case on the opposing wall. The contents of the case astounded Alto, as it contained many models of Valkyries and even a PVC sculpture of Ranka. Alto identified about half the the Valkyries as different variants of the VF-25, and one as the VF-27, although the others seemed vague from him, being either from other colonies or from times long before Frontier.

"What the... Who are you?"

"Name's Henry."

"Henry, huh? I'm A-"

"Alto Saotome. I know. I'm gonna stop you now, because I know by that look you have a lot more questions. Wake your friends up while I scrounge up some food... If what I think has happened is true, then you're probably pretty hungry..."

* * *

"I've only been home on leave for 2 days, and already all kinds of shit is hitting the fan," Henry sighed as he slumped into his desk chair. "Goddamn cross-dimensional fold slips..." Alto leaned against the wall, as if waiting to ask a barrage of questions. Ranka nibbled on a pop-tart and glanced of the sculpture of herself. It wore her yellow and orange stage dress and was positioned in her infamous "~Kira!" pose. Klan merely sat in the corner, rocking back and forth, staring a hole into the wall.

"Cross-dimensional fold slip?" Alto murmured with a questioning look in his eye.

"I'm sure they must've discovered something along those lines with all the fold research they've done in your dimension... How rather than a single dimension, their are many dimensions folded together, and your fold boosters propel you into the space in between these dimensions. Now, say if their was a glitch, instead of re-entering your dimension, it would be possible to fall into a different dimension..."

"That's... one helluva imagination you got there..."

"Well, I have this theory... That "imagination" is not what we actually think it is, but rather a subconscious insight into another dimension, so were this true, then this would both be "imagination" and "fact"."

"Umm... wow... you sure you're okay?"

"Not surprised you don't believe me..." Henry mused. He cracked open the laptop that was sitting on the desk and opened one of the files in the My Documents folder. He turned the screen towards Alto. "If what I say blasphemy, then explain this. I wrote it last night." Alto quickly skimmed the document.

"No way... It can't be... This is exactly what happened before we got here... The instatement of the Joint Assault squadrons... The chase down of Emi... That trap card "Key to the Infinite Dimensions"..." Alto stared at Henry, lost for words. Ranka and Klan now seemed fully interested in the conversation at hand.

"If we're not on Frontier or in Neo Domino City... then where are we?" Ranka inquired.

"Welcome to Reno, second largest city in the state of Nevada, which is one of the 50 states that comprise the United States of America. Today is December 15, 2010. In your dimension, the United States would have been complete absorbed into the United Nation government 2 to 3 years prior to this date and a full fledged war with the Zentraedi would have ended recently. But as you can see here, the U.N. hasn't merged into a single government, there is no Alien Starship 1, aka "Macross", and their is no war with the Zentrans. Comparatively, it's primitive and boring."

"But if there was no Macross, then the humans would not have had access to what they called "OverTechnology", which means that the basics of Fold travel have not been discovered..." Klan pondered.

"Which means no Fold boosters, so we're stuck here..." Alto concluded.

"Yakh De Culcha..."

* * *

"Reports are in from the crash site," Mina announced. "Acela Squadron, Skull Squadron, Crimson Squadron, Antares-1 and Rabbit-1 have all been confirmed as down."

"Survivors?" Capt. Wilder inquired.

"That's the thing... It's not there's no signs of life... It's there's no sign of them at all. Not even a single DNA trace. Although the cockpit cameras did pick up something..." Mina brought up the cockpit camera recordings from Alto's valkyrie. The was a crackle of static across of the screen, but the flash of bright, pink light was unmistakeable.

"You mean... They were fold jumped out of their valkyries?" Lum asked in a puzzled manner.

"That's what it looks like..." Monica mused.

"Then not all hope is lost," Capt. Wilder added. "In my many years of experience, I've found out that when an object performs a fold jump, it leaves behind a distintive energy trace that can be used to track down where the object folded to."

"Intriguing... but their may be some slight complications, sir..." Mina replied. "Through my calculations, these fold jumps happened directly after Emi activated the card 'Key to the Infinite Dimensions'... If it actually is as it's name says... Then locating these faint energy signatures across dimensional boundaries would take quite a while, especially since it has an infinite number of dimensions to choose from, so I doubt they all got sent to then same dimension..."

"Always dousing our little sparks of hope, aren't ya..."

"I don't know what to say to you you guys..." Henry mused as he stared at the ceiling. "As far as I know, no government on Earth in this dimension is even close to obtaining fold travel, so..."

"I know where you can start," Klan grunted. "How about explaining how you seem to be a valkyrie enthusiast when they don't exist in this dimension..." Klan gestured at the multiple valkyrie models.

"Oh, that..." Henry clicked the mouse a few times, navigating through a series of folders. A collage of video files popped up, and he chose one from the middle of the group. Alto, Ranka and Klan all leaned over his shoulder trying to see what was happening. The trio seemd perplexed at first until a very familiar melody accompanied what seemed to be the opening credits.

_"Hoshi wo mawase sekai no mannaka de~_

_Kushami sureba doko no mori de chou ga ranbu~"_

[_Make the stars dance in the center of the world~_

_If you sneeze, in some forest, the butterflies will frenzy~]_

"Why did Sheryl just pull me through a mirror on this video?" Ranka asked with a puzzled face.

_"Kimi ga mamoru doa no kagi detarame~_

_Hazukashi monogatari nameatte mo raion wa tsuyoi~"_

[_The key to the door you protect doesn't matter~_

_It's an embarassing story. Though they lick each other, the lions are still strong~]_

"Wait... Is it possible that you weren't the only who, quote-unquote, imagined us?" Klan inquired.

_"Ikinokoritai ikinokoritai mada ikitetaku naru~_

_Seiza no michibiki de ima mitsumeatta~"_

[_I want to survive! I want to survive! I still want to live on!~_

_Guide by the constellations, right now, our eyes just met~]_

"Another person who "imagined" us... made a TV show about us?" Alto mused.

_"Ikinokoritai tohou ni kurete kirari kurete yuku~_

_Honki no karada misetsukeru made watashi nemuranai~"_

[_I want to survive! I'm at a loss, but with a sparkle it withers away~_

_But until I show you my true self, I will not sleep~_]

"Bingo," Henry chimed in.

_"Ikinokoritai mada ikitetai kimi wo aishiteru~_

_Honki no kokoro misetsukeru made watashi nemuranai~"_

[_I want to survive! I still want to live because I love you!~_

_But until I show you what's truly in my heart, I will not sleep!~_]

"Answer your question, Klan?"

"Yeah... And we can assume the same goes for the Signers?"

"That'd be correct, although, I don't have their show on my computer..."

"Oh well, it's not like they're there... Damn '_Key to the Infinite Dimensions_'..."

Henry sighed and continued to play the episode of Macross Frontier. As soon as the sponsors' clip ended, though, he paused the video, astounded at what he saw. "You're all missing from the footage," he mumbled.

"Wha?"

"You're literally missing from the footage of the show. Alto and Ranka... You two are _supposed_ to be standing there next to Luca, yet you're not... and Klan is supposed to appearing here, and she's not..."

"Is it possible that with us being folded into another dimension, we changed the dimension we left?" Ranka asked.

"Possible... Tell ya what, I'll do some research... Maybe if your not in your own footage, then the others will appear as irregularities in other shows... I'll call up a friend of mine and have him keep you guys entertained in the mean while..." Henry opened the CD drive and inserted '_Uchuu Senkan Yamato - Fukkatsu-hen_'. [_Space Battleship Yamato - Resurrection_]


	4. Chpt 3: The Icebreaker and the Dinosaur

_**Chapter 3: The Icebreaker and the Dinosaur**_

Akiza groggily got up off the ground. Her head hurt like hell and there was a large thrumming echoing through the room. The twins were still out cold next to her as she poked her head up above the crate they were behind. The room was home to a massive machine that Akiza was dumbfounded about it's purpose. It appeared to have six canisters lined up in a circle, much like a revolver. On the other end of the room was what looked like a breach for a gun. Was this some doomsday cannon or something?

Suddenly, the air became shrill with the loud wail of an alarm and the flash of red lights.

"Security Alert! Security Alert!" the announcement system blared. "Man your Security Alert stations. All hands not involved stand fast. Security Response Team lay to Main Engine Room. Reason for Security Alert: Possible intruder."

"Dammit," Akiza swore, noticing the security camera that was fixed on her position. The racket caused by the alarm had awoken the twins who rubbed their eyes in confusion. Six armed personnel burst into the room, wielding assault rifles and shotguns.

"Akiza... what's going o-" Leo froze as his drowsy eyes noticed to muzzle of a shotgun a few feet away from his face.

"Hands up where I can see them," the weilder of the shotgun ordered. "Come out of there slowly."

"Dammit, Kamijou, can't you show a little restraint against children?" a seventh man who just enetered the room asked. He was garnished in a long black cloak and woar a combination cover with gold frills. "You'll have to excuse the rudeness of my crew," he continued as he reached out his hand. "I'm Captain Susumu Kodai, commanding officer of the Yamato. Please, come with me."

Kodai led the trio through a maze of corridors for what seemed like an eternity. Leo seemed uncharacteristically quiet as he followed along. Not a single "What is this?" or "What's that do?" questions emanated from his mouth, which began to get Luna a little worried. Truth was, Leo was actually too focused to asked these question. He was constantly glancing over his shoulder, watching Kamijou follow from a distance, the shotgun still firmly grasped in his hands. There was also the single name bouncing around in Leo's head that Kodai had said: 'Yamato'.

"This would be the bridge," Kodai informed them as they stepped out of an elevator.

"Captain, are these the so-called "intruders"?" a man sitting at the nearest console asked.

"That would be correct," Kodai replied.

"Ah, allow me to introduce myself. I would be Commander Oomura Kousaku, the executive officer." Kousaku stood up and reached out to shake hands. "It's my fault for the rough greetings. I couldn't catch the general announcement system operator in time. I realized that while our knowledge of teleportation systems is limited, the lack of any form of addressing code in the energy signature mean that you were literally sent here by accident, and therefore, had no harmful intentions."

"'By Accident' barely covers it," Luna sighed. "All we were doing was flying in a shuttle, then next thing knew, we woke up in your engine room."

"As if we weren't confused enough already," Kodai mused. His attention turned to Leo, who was staring blankly off into space. " You okay, kid?"

"Captain... You said that this ship was named Yamato, right?"

"That is correct."

"I think then that maybe our being sent here was 'by accident'." Leo pulled his deck out of his duel disk and handed Kodai the card 'Space Battleship Yamato'. Kodai looked over the card, obviously puzzled.

"A card from a card game... But I don't recognize the format of the card at all, and I do know my fair share about card games..."

"Leo, are you pussibly trying to imply that the card of 'Yamato' was able to somehow redirect us to the real 'Yamato' when 'Key to the Infinite Dimensions' was activated?" Akiza inquired.

"Well, doesn't it make sense?" Leo protested. "Yamato was one of the warships chosen by Aphos to protect mankind! I think that if that's true, it's power extends beyond being just a card!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Kousaku pleaded. "I think that there's a lot of details you're leaving out, but-"

"Sir, all systems are green. Launch preparations complete," the chief engineer reported.

"Understood," Kodai replied. He turned back to Akiza and the twins. "Fill me in with the rest of the details as soon as we are caught up with the rest of the fleet."

"Yamato, undocking," Kousaku reported from his terminal. The ship began to shudder as a giant lift raised Yamato out of it's cradle. Kodai sat down in his chairs, reviewing the mission reports.

"Activating auxilary engines and power nexus," chief engineer reported.

After approximately 20 seconds, the shuddering stopped as the lift came to a halt. Akiza and twins moved up to the front of the bridge, peering out the windows.

"Is something wrong?" Akiza asked. "There still appears to be ice above us..."

"Nothing's wrong according to lift diagnostics," Kousaku replied. "Yamato is in launch position."

"Enable the first and second flywheels," chief engineer ordered down to the engine room.

"_First flywheel connected!_" crackled over the radio. "_Second flywheel connected!_"

"Releasing the gantry locks," Kousaku announced.

"Yamato, take off!"

"Wait! What about the ice?"

* * *

"Franco..." Henry mused. "When I said "Keep them entertained", that doesn't mean "light Klan's hair on fire"! I'm actually glad she broke your nose, because now I won't have to. Go sit in the corner. Now."

"Alright," Franco sighed as he slumped away.

"I apologize for my idiot friend. I should've known better," Henry consoled. "But I have good news. Everyone's been located."

"Really? Already?" Ranka inquired.

"Yeah. I guess those warships have more power than just being cards. Akiza, Leo and Luna are safely onboard the Space Battleship Yamato, and everyone else is still in the vicinity of Neo Domino City. The warships must've used their own warp drives of fold boosters or what not to redirect you to these locations for some reason."

"Okay... Then why are we here? There's nothing here that can really help us..." Klan sighed.

"I dunno if we can say that there's _nothing _that can help us..." Henry replied as he stared at a poster hanging on his wall.

"What... That dinosaur of a ship?" Alto scoffed.

"Oi, I won't let you talk shit about the ship I'm assigned to. The Fitzgerald may be low-tech compared to the warships from where you come from, but she's state-of-the-art in this realm and she's won every award that I can think of. Granted, the lack of any sort of fold travel or warp or whatever makes that kind of a mute point... But then again, everything's been turned on it's head recently, so who knows? I have to go back to Japan, where the ship's based, tomorrow, and right after I get back, there's a "Friends and Family Day Cruise", which will allow me to get you onto the ship."

"So... your saying that if we get the Macross Quarter card onto this... "Fitzgerald"... it'll transport us home?"

"I never said that... But, there is no logical solution to solve this matter... Therefore, any remaining option, regardless of how illogical or improbable, must be the solution... So, why not? It's worth a shot."


	5. Chpt 4: Faithful Claws

_**Chapter 4: Faithful Claws**_

"Dammit, my daughter is dead thanks to you!" Hideo accused. "Ever since you SMS folks showed up, it's been nothing by trouble!"

"Please understand, Senator Izinski," Capt. Wilder pleaded. "We are doing everything in our power to solve this matter. Akiza understood the risk involved when she signed the contract."

"Contract? Contract? You think I give a damn about the fine print in your damn contract? Listen here, you have one week to find Akiza and cancel her damn contract or else I'm having SMS exiled!" Senator Izinski turned on his heel and marched out of the office without another word. Capt. Wilder tapped his finger a few times on the desk in ponderance before activating the speakerphone.

"Bobby, bring me the contracts for all members of Crimson squadron..."

* * *

"Now that those pesky Signers and Oracles are out of the way, we're clear for Phase 2," Emi reported. Grace gave a wicked smile.

"Thanks deery," she replied. She reached upwards, staring into the night sky. "Go, Vajra... With your faithful claws... Now, prostrate yourself! Behold our godly power which controls even fate!" Gry and Brian watched in horror from their hiding spot as multiple defold portals appeared in the sky and endless Vajra began spilling out, covering Neo Domino City in the buzz of thousands of insect wings.

"Don't overdo it, Grace..." Emi mused. " I don't want your Vajra to eat all of the duelists in this poor city..."

"Don't worry... Vajra hate the radiated energy from the Momentums that power D-Wheels and Duel Disks, so they should only eat a poor unfortunate few..." Grace's peripheral sensors built into her cybernetic implant network began to pick up faint energy traces as Gry and Brian slowly snuck away in the shadows.

"... Something wrong?"

"Looks like random isn't really so random... This must be the true power of Aphos' chosen warships... The mark of Gotengo is not far from here, and he is with another... Both were supposedly banished by Key to the Infinite Dimensions, but it looks Gotengo had other plans..."

"Th-!"

"Stop. Let him run for now. We will crush them properly all in due time."

* * *

"Request permission to come aboard."

"Come aboard," the Messenger of the Watch replied.

"They're with me," Henry stated as he stepped off the gangplank, gesturing back towards Alto, Ranka and Klan. The Messenger nodded in acknoledgement and the trio followed Henry off the gangplank, onto the Fitzgerald's helicopter flightdeck.

"I don't care what you say," Klan muttered. "This ship is still a dinosaur. It doesn't even have any built-in destroid units..."

"There's no destroids because all of the ship's systems and weapons are integrated into Aegis, which synchronizes and controls all the systems, so in effect, the entire ship acts as a single destroid unit."

"Right... Still doubt it's chances against any real enemy from our era... According to my studies of Frontier's historical database, ships like this were last utilized 50 years prior to the current year on Frontier, during the Unification Wars to be exact. That'd be during the time of the movie Bird Human, where you played the part of Mao, Ranka. Anyways, a specific report stated how 8 Anti-UN SV-51's attacked the UN's carrier strike group, sinking 5 ships of similar specifications to this ship and damaged the carrier itself with minimal losses. Had it not been for the actions of Lt. Roy Fokker and the SV-51's atrocious fuel economy, limiting it's time it could attack, the outcome could've been much, much worse."

"Whatever you say..." Henry sighed as he climbed up the stairwell to the Aft VLS deck.

"_Station the Sea and Anchor Detail. Station the Sea and Anchor Detail_."

"Dammit, I'm part of that... Alright, stay here. I'll get back to you as soon as the ship is underway..."

* * *

2 Hours Later

"_Good Morning, Fitzgerald! This is your Officer of the Deck, Ensign Bishop, with the plan of the day. In 15 minutes, we will be securing the foc'sle for a 1000 demonstration of the 5 inch. At 1030, the foc'sle will be opened to normal traffic and we will be performing a 25mm demonstration. Hearing protection will be required for all personnel in midships and the port-side castleway at that time. At 1100, there will be a steel beach picnic on the flight deck. Officers, including the captain himself, will be cooking. At 1400, there will be an ice cream social to be held on the messdecks and at 1430, we will be setting the Sea and Anchor Detail for an expected 1500 mooring back in Yokosuka. That's all, Fitzgerald. Have a great day._"

"He seems... Long-winded..." Ranka mused as she glanced up at the speaker mounted on the side of the ship. The sea breeze gently blew through hair as Fitzgerald picked up speed, clear of Tokyo Bay.

"Got that right..." Klan snorted. "Ranka, if we're going to experiment, let's get it done and over with..."

"Huh? Oh, right..." Ranka reached into her bag, pulling out her deck. She pulled out Macross Quarter, then placed the rest of the deck back in the bag.

"So, that's the Macross Quarter card..." Henry muttered as he glanced at it over Ranka's shoulder. Ranka continued to stare into the depths of the card, wishing for something to happen. The thoughts of her friends back on Frontier filled her head.

"Ranka... Your arm..." Alto mused. The outline of Macross Quarter had become visible and was emanating a faint blue light.

"_All hands, brace for emergency evasion!_" spurted over the 1MC. Fitzgerald's engines roared and the rudders slammed to full left turn. The ship listed heavily to the right, throwing Klan and other nearby personnel against the life lines. Klan got to her knees and peered over the side towards the front of the ship, curious at what they were attempting to avoid.

"No way... A fold?"

"You gotta be shitting me," Alto replied as he went over to the life lines, looking for himself. Klan wasn't mistaken, this was definately a fold portal. Fitzgerald's propellars thrashed in the water, attempting to reverse, but the fold portal was literally pulling them in. Despite the ship's best efforts, it was dragged through the fold portal, never to be seen in this dimension again.

* * *

"Um, excuse me?" Susumu Kodai inquired as he poked his head into the room he had set aside for Akiza, Leo and Luna.

"Yes?" Luna replied, looking up from the duel she was having with her brother. Akiza was passed out on the couch.

"Well, umm... If it's not too much trouble, I was wondering if you could look after my daughter, Maiyuki... You see, onboard a war vessel like this she doesn't have many friends."

"Oh..." Luna mused, reflecting back on the days when it was only her and her brother. "Okay."

"Great. Thanks a lot for this. She's currently on the bridge. Yamato's preparing to warp soon, and the lights created are quite beautiful. Would you like to come to the bridge and watch?"

"Sure, I'd love to!"

"Oi, Luna! What about our duel?"

"Leo, there's more to life than just dueling..."

"I know, but..."

"Don't worry, Leo," Susumu soothed. "It won't take very long."

"Okay... but what about Akiza?"

"Hmm... I think it's best to just let her sleep. Yamato will be making several warps along this journey, so I'm sure she can catch the next one..." The twins followed Capt. Kodai through the mess of corridors, arriving on the bridge. A young girl, about the same age as the twins, was sitting in the captain's chair, wearing the captain's hat, which was obviously too large for her. Her feet barely managed to reach the ground by her tip-toes.

"Luna..." Leo gasped. "What's this feeling in my chest... It feels like my heart is going to explode..."

"Awe, Leo has a crush on the captain's daughter..." Luna teased.

"I do not! I has to be a poison... Yeah, that's it, a poison..."

"Hi, I'm Maiyuki." Leo shreaked at Maiyuki's sudden appearance in front of him and darted off. Luna shook her head in disdain.

"I'm Luna. That was my brother, Leo, who just ran off..." Luna replied. "Apparently he thinks you're trying to poison him or something..."

"Odd... but kinda funny," Maiyuki said with a giggle. "So, are you here to watch the warp too?"

"Yup."

"All hands, prepare for warp," Susumu announced. "Kobayashi, initiate warp."

"Aye, captain," Kobayashi, the chief helmsman, replied. He pulled a lever on his console, initiating the warp. A wave of blue light covered Yamato's hull as the two girls watched in awe. Leo, poked his around the corner he had hid behind, watching the lights. Little did Leo know that there was a blue light much closer to him as his Oracle mark of Yamato began to glow.

"Something's wrong," Susumu mused as he noticed streaks of pink beginning to appear around the warp horizon. "Kobayashi, cancel warp!"

"It's no good, captain!" Kobayashi replied with a frantic look on his face. "The controls aren't responding! Looks like Yamato's going to warp whether we like it or not!"


	6. Chpt 5: Craziest Idea Ever

_**Chapter 5: Craziest Idea Ever**_

"Single contact defolding at relative bearing 070. Range, 40 nautical miles."

"Noted," Commodore Perry, commanding officer of the assault carrier Battle Frontier, replied. "What's the status of our valkyrie deployment?"

"Aye, sir. Bravo, Echo and Rema squadrons are beginning their engagement. Vermillion squadron currently launching from Catapult Deck 1. Diamond Force is moving into launch position on Catapult Deck 2."

"Understood. Continue with launch of all squadrons. Have Vermillion squadron scout out that single defold signature. We don't need a Vajra ship trying to flank us."

* * *

"I have this feeling... Almost like that feeling you get when you're almost home..." Ranka mused as she stared off at the land visible in the distance. Fitzgerald had exitted the fold and now floated along as the quartermasters desperately tried to get an idea at where the warship was now located.

"I know what you mean..." Henry mused. "Similar to how the crew feels right before we pull back into homeport in Yokosuka... But that doesn't seem to be the case now, at least for me..."

"Well, the ship _did_ just through a fold," Klan replied. "For all we know, we could be in another dimension... aga-"

"Oi, there you are Bruyn," an approaching voice called out. "Senior Chief Butow sent us to find you. Something about Sat-16 going down."

"Dougherty... Were you outside about 5 minutes ago?"

"No... why?"

"If I identified it correctly, the ship did it's little evasive manuveurs to avoid a fold portal, but we failed to avoid it. I don't know how far the fold may have taken us, but I'm pretty damn sure that we'd lose the link with the satellite regardless..." Dougherty and McGlew stared back awkwardly, trying to take in what their shipmate had just said.

"Okay, Bruyn, I know you like Macross and such, but maybe that demented green space skwerl running around in your head maybe chewed on one too many wires?" McGlew inquired. "I mean, seriously, a fold? Of all the things?"

"Ai-kun isn't demented!" Ranka interjected.

"And, wow... Just... Wow... Not only did you convince yourself that our ship performed a fold jump, but you also hired people to cosplay as Macross characters and brought them onboard for this friends and family day cruise... I think we should go see Doc... Maybe have a mental test or two performed..."

"McGlew, fuck off. I'll be damned if all of this is just some sort of mental breakdown. If you don't believe me then..." Henry noticed something over McGlew's shoulder. "Look at that." He pointed at three flying objects quickly approaching from the direction of the distant landmass. As they approached, their figures became more noticeable. McGlew turned around, noticing the three objects.

"Holy shit..." McGlew said as he stared at the three white and gray fighters fly overhead. "VF-171EX... Okay, Bruyn, maybe you're not as crazy as I thought... Rather, this entire world has gone comepletely insane..."

* * *

"Vermillion Leader to Battle Frontier. Contact is an ocean-bound warship. Appears to be human-made. Uploading visuals."

"_Data received. To be precise, that'd be an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. A ship like that hasn't been seen since the Human-Zentran War 50 years ago back on Earth... How in hell did it end up here?_"

"What makes you think I'd know? They haven't shown any hostile intent, so we'll ignore them for now. Vermillion squadron turning to engage the Vaj-" Vermillion Leader's transmission was cut short as his valkyrie was vaporized, struck by an energy bolt that seared the heavens.

"Vermillion 2 to Battle Frontier! We've been ambushed by a large swarm of Vajra! Requesting immediate reinfo-"

* * *

"And a 171EX gets pawned... What else is new?" McGlew sighed as the wreckage crashed into the sea.

"Apparently their killer hasn't..." Henry mused, noticing the swarm of approaching Vajra. The aft CIWS swiveled around and opened fire, knocking a number of the smaller tan Vajra out of the sky. A distant echo was heard as the forward CIWS mount followed suit.

"I don't know about you guys, but I just got this urge to go write my will..."

"Naw... I have another idea... It's either my craziest or best idea I've ever had..."

"And this would be?" Henry glanced at Ranka.

"First, we need to grab the speakers from the pilot house. Alto, we'll need your help. Ranka and Klan, get to cover in the Helo Control Tower. Let's go!" Henry, McGlew, Dougherty and Alto took off down the port side midship and up the stairwell that lead up the port side of the forward stack towards the pilot house. The noise of gunfire was deafening and the quartet gagged on the toxic fumes from the chaff launchers, but McGlew's mind was still fixated on trying to figure out Henry's train of thought.

"He wants us to grab speakers from the pilot house..." he muttered. "And he seemed fixated on Ranka... Wait... Bruyn, are you thinking what in hell I think you're thinking?"

"Hell yeah! Ranka Attack, Fitzgerald-style!"


	7. Chpt 6: Ranka Attack, Fitzgerald Style

_**Chapter 6: Ranka Attack, Fitzgerald-Style**_

[Author Note: Song lyrics will be translated to English for ease of understanding.]

"All connections are ready," Dougherty announced. "Ready when you are." Henry nodded in acknowledgement. He grasped the Push-To-Talk button for his headset in hand and took a deep breath.

"CSOOW, this is Helo Control Tower," he spoke into the microphone. "Initiating Ranka Attack to disrupt Vajra neural network. Standby." He gave Dougherty a thumbs up, ignoring the replies that filled his ears.

"Ranka! You are online in 3... 2... 1..." Dougherty yelled out to the flight deck. He flipped a switch on the speaker control module, starting the background music. The deck began to shudder as the 5" deck gun opened fire, launching flak shells into the sky.

"_Make the stars dance in the center of the world._

_If you sneeze, in some forest, the butterflies will frenzy._"

* * *

"This fold wave..." Monica muttered. "It can't be... Ranka?"

"R- Ranka-chan?" Bobby stuttered with surprise. "She's okay?"

"I believe so. Putting audio fold wave signal on speakers."

"_The key to the door you protect doesn't matter._

_It's an embarrasing story. Though they lick each other, the lions are still strong._"

"No doubt about it! That's definately Ranka-chan!" Bobby exclaimed. Capt. Wilder grabbed his microphone.

"Skull Squadron, Acela Squadron, Antares Squadron! Sounds wave coordinates have confirmed Ranka's location onboard the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that was detected by Battle Frontier's radar. Provide immediate close air support and ensure the ship's survival.

"_I want to survive! I want to survive! I still want to live on!_

_Guided by the constellations, right now, our eyes just met._"

"_Yes, sir!_"

* * *

"You heard 'em, boys! Let's go save our Songstress of Hope!" Johan cheered. He reached down and turn the volume of the incoming transmission up to full blast.

"_I want to survive! I am at a loss, but with a sparkle it withers away._

_But until I show you my true self, I will not sleep._"

"Acela 2, roger!"

"Acela 3, roger!"

The three Tornado Messiahs dove into the fireworks of explosions and flak, narrowly avoiding being struck by the steel rain of CIWS fire. Acela 2's ROV-E95X laser turret opened fire repeately, striking Vajra out of the sky. Missiles streaked across the sky, leaving a mess of contrails. A loud crack was heard from Acela 2's craft and the cooling unit for the laser sparked and began to crack.

"Acela 2 here! Laser turret malfunction! Purging Tornado Pack!" Acela 2 watched as the laser turret and extra boosters fell away, and at that short pause was when the enemy struck as a Hound Vajura used it's two mantis-like arms to grasped onto Acela 2's left leg, dragging along the VF-25F like a rag doll.

"_Will the winds blow east one day?_

_The high pressure is attacking the glaciers of this planet._"

The valkyrie struggled, swinging it's combat knife wildly, but it's reach was too short to reach the Hound Vajura's grasp. Gry's life began to flash before his eyes as the Hound Vajra raised one of it's claws to strike, but his vision became filled with a blinding blue light.

"Keep your claws off of him!" a familiar voice crackled over the back-up radio.

"_My chest hurts from a sip of its alluring waters._

_It's a story seen from a distance. I keep gnawing at things right up to the core._"

"That voice..." Gry grunted as he attempted to regain control off his valkyrie, what remained of the Hound Vajra hanging off of the valkyrie's leg. Acela 2 transformed into Gerwalk configuration, and it was then he noticed another ship approaching from a distance. "Luna?"

"_I want to survive! I want to survive! I still want to live on!_

_Guided by the constellations, right now, our eyes just met._"

Yamato approached at flank speed, the bore of it's fore-most turret still smoking after sniping the Hound Vajura off of Acela 2. The anti-air turrets onboard Yamato opened fire on an approaching swarm of Vajura, scoring multiple kills.

"_I want to survive! I am at a lose, but with a sparkle it wither away._

_But until I show you my true self, I will not sleep._"

"Heh, what's this now? A duet of Cinderellas?" Gry mused as he listened to Luna join Ranka in song.

"_What were we born to do?_

_What are we here to do?_"

The detrimental effect of the fold song was becoming more and more apparent as Vajra numbers were now at a fraction of where they started. Macross Quarter opened fire with it's Heavy Quantum Reaction Cannon, eradicating the last major swarm, leaving the valkyries and smaller ships to clean up what remained of the Vajra force.

"_I want to survive, but the past has left me scarred and I used to fear the light._

_But still our lives seek redemption, and right now, are drawn to each other._

_My prowling days are through. Let me settle next to you, with a bashfulness I thought I'd lost._

_But until I show you my true self, I will not sleep._

_I want to survive! Being on the edge is fine. I still love you!_

_Our lives that are waiting to be awakened are right now, drawn to each other._

_Instead of my madness, I shall offer you a prayer because I love you!_

_Constellations, guide me..._

_I want to survive! I still want to live because I love you!_

_But until I show you what's truly in my heart, I will not sleep!_"

* * *

A few hours later...

Gry still felt as if he was out of breath, still in shock from the Hound Vajura and Yamato. He stood on the pier, staring blankly at the size of the cannons that had come within feet of his valkyrie.

"I swear to God... I have half a mind to beat the shit out of whoever the gunnery officer is onboard this ship..."

"Eh, I wouldn't blame ya," Leo mused. "He was kind of an asshole."

"But he did save your life..." Luna added.

"I wouldn't say that..." Gry sighed. "I think what truly saved me was the voice of a songstress and a song that inspired me to live to duel and fight another day... And, no, I'm not talking about Ranka..."

"Well, I... I..." Luna stammered as she turned a bright shade of red. Leo glanced back and forth between his sister and Gry, mildly confused.

"Well, all that's important is we're all safe and sound," he chuckled, trying to change the subject. "I'd say this calls for a celebration! Who's up for ice cream?"


	8. Chpt 7: Laplace's Box

_**Chapter 7: Laplace's Box**_

Neo-Domino City, Downtown District, 1300

Gry walked silently down the street, the twins followed shortly behind, entwined in their ice cream. A thousand and one thoughts were flying through his head about earlier that day. What the reason behind the Vajra attack today? Had Frontier not ended it's fight with the Vajra when Grace O'Connor's control of their queen had been severed? Wh-

Gry's thoughts jarred as he ran into someone rounding the corner. "Oi, watch where in hell you're going!" they swore, although in the back of Gry's mind, it sounded like he had said it.

As Gry shook off the impact and opened his eyes, he could've sworn he was staring into a mirror. A person nearly identical to him was staring back into his eyes. The only difference was while Gry was still in his S.M.S. black leather jacket and green cargo pants, the other wore a blue and grey digital camoflage with "U.S. Navy" embroidered above the left breast pocket.

"Who the hell are you?"

"That's an awfully vague question..." the other replied.

"Why are there... two Gry's?" Leo muttered. The other gave a slight smirk.

"It would seem that my theories were correct... That our imaginations are interlinked with our parallel dimensions selves... It almost exactly as I thought..."

"What the hell are you rambling on about?" Gry demanded.

"When you asked, "Who the hell are you?", a better question would've been "Who am I?" because I am you... A you from a different dimension whose been caught up in some cross-dimensional mess which is all part of Aphos' grand scheme of things... I had a theory that our "Imaginations" were actually insights upon ourselves in other dimensions... I had imagined another version of myself as part of S.M.S., and here I am standing in front of an apparent other version of myself who is wearing an S.M.S. uniform."

"Riiight... And how come I never imagined you as part of an antique navy?"

"Maybe you've just never awakened to this insight... Too stubborn to think outside of the box and open your heart..."

"And what's saying you're not just a Kadun Oracle attempting to play tricks on our mind..."

"And what's saying I am? Are there any real indicators or maybe your accusation is based entirely on your delusional thought process?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out... I challenge you to a due-"

"Hold it."

"What now?" Gry complained.

"Unfortunately, I don't have my deck on me. Left it back on the ship. Tell ya what, I'll find you in due time, at a location truly fitting for a duel. Until then..." The other turned and walked back towards the harbor without another word.

"I knew he seemed awfully familiar," Ranka mused after a pause. "But I didn't even begin to think he was actually you..."

"True..." Klan added. "Gry... Are you sure you want to through with this duel, though? I mean, you have been in a bit of a slump since that birhmark appeared... What if he is a Kadun as you say, and you lose to him? Who knows what would happen..."

"I know, I know..." Gry sighed. "I need to find how to "Believe in my cards" as Yusei says... For that... Luna, do you think you could get me into the Spirit World again?"

* * *

"Macross Quarter" Bridge, 1330

"There's no way everything that has happened is by mere coincidence..." Johan mused. "Aphos has to be planning something... The only question is, what?"

"I have a feeling that will be answered soon..." Capt. Wilder replied. "It would seem as if all the pieces for a puzzle have been dumped here. Neglecting the 'Battlestar Galactica' that you had for a short while which turned out to be a dud, we have 3 of the 4 pieces, I believe. First piece is Neo Domino City, the center for all of Duel Monsters. The second and third piece are the two of Aphos' dreadnoughts moored here in Neo Domino City, Macross Quarter and Yamato. The final piece is the one missing dreadnought..."

"Gotengo..."

"Precisely... When Gotengo appears above Neo Domino City, the stage will be set, and Aphos' plans will br made clear."

"Okay... But what about the Fitzgerald? It's not depicted in the pictographs as one of Aphos' dreadnoughts, nor has it been mentioned in any writings at all, yet Aphos seems to have gone out of his way to bring that ship here... Why?"

"That... I do not know... But nothing remains a mystery forever. Be patient, and the reason for Fitzgerald being here will be made clear in due time..."

"Yeah... But I'll be damned if we're going to sit here and just wait... My team could use some duel training. Brian and I can do some practice riding duels in our Valkyries if you can open up some airspace... As for Gry, it'd help him too... Maybe break him free of his slump... But can't seem to find him anywhere..."

"I'm sure where ever he is, he's already a step ahead of you..."

"What makes you say that?"

"Let's just leave it at an old man's intuition..."

* * *

Dimension XR3782; Geo-synchronous orbit above Earth Sphere capital city, Gracemeria; 1st Fleet Space Dock; Onboard bridge of missile-destroyer _Illustria_

"Captain," a disembodied voice spoke. "You have an incoming message."

"Aria..." Capt. Zeiger muttered as he sat up in his chair. The ship's AI's hologram image flickered on the holopad on the chair's arm. The image 'she' had chosen for herself was a highschool-age female with strawbeery-blonde hair, dressed in a green long-sleeve shirt and black shorts. "What have I told you about interrupting my mid-day naps..."

"I apologize, sir, but the message was from the Fleet Admiral, categorized Prioity One."

"Shit, you should've mentioned that earlier..." Capt. Zeiger replied as opened the message. "Mission Code: Valkyria? What's that mean?"

"Mission code accepted. Sealing off bridge," Aria announced. Her voice had a steely tinge to it, as if an outside entity was controlling her speech protocols. "For commanding officer's of First Fleet vessels and First Fleet vessel's AI only. Identities confirmed: Daniel Zeiger; Captain, Imperial Navy; Commanding Officer of missile destroyer "Illustria", assigned to First Fleet. Ship's Central Control Artificial Intelligence, codename "Aria", serial number: 4158422412, assigned to "Illustria". No other life-forms or intelligent programs deteced. Beginning operation briefing."

"What thel hell..." Daniel muttered. "It's never been this much trouble to get the briefing..."

"I apologize for the inconvience," another voice spoke. Next to Aria, a second hologram appeared. This one was silver-haired with a blue and white dress and angel wings. "The Fleet Admiral insisted on the extra security to prevent an information breach. Ship's Central Control Artificial Intelligence, codename "Athena", serial number: 0402148492, assigned to Heavy Command Cruiser "Gotengo", at your service, sir."

"The Fleet Admiral... Sent the Gotengo's own AI? Not even the invasion of Amarl was this important..."

"I shall now begin the briefing for Operation Final War. Important person, codename "Keystone of Laplace's Box" has been seized by forces exclusively loyal to the Empress. All First Fleet vessels are to rendezvous with Gotengo at Lagrange 3. From there, First Fleet with rescue "Keystone of Laplace's Box", then proceed with Phase 2, where First Fleet shall destroy the Empire's command center, Hresvelgr, bringing an end to the tyranny that is the Empire. Further details shall be given as the operation unfolds. Questions, sir?"

"Yeah... What is this "Laplace's Box" and who is this "Keystone" of it?"

"As I understand, "Laplace's Box" is the codename for the things that keep the Fleet Admiral loyal to the Empress. He doesn't agree with many of her policies, so to keep him happy and under control, many actions had to take place. One of which was having the Gotengo be the test platform for all of the Empire's ship-based weapons, and to have me as it's AI. Another was that he personally chose all commanding officers of First Fleet vessels."

"I can understand that... He wanted captains who would follow him in this crazy plan in the event of a breach of "Laplace's Box"..."

"As for the "Keystone", I'm sorry, but even I do not know their identity... All I know is that they are the most important part of Laplace's Box... The only people who know the true identity of "Keystone" are the Fleet Admiral himself, Kiryu and the Empress..."

"Got it... Everyone has a secret... Or a hundred... And the Fleet Admiral is no exception... Aria, send out a recall to all hands and begin making preparations for getting underway. Illustria will be joining Gotengo in Operation Final War..."

* * *

Spirit Realm, Sogen Region, Village of Airantou, Central Plaza

Gry watched as Luna skipped off, holding Kuribon in her arms. His mind still pondered over why exactly he had come here and where to go. He was surrounded by duel monster spirits that he didn't recognize, and as the bouncing pigtails disappeared into the crowd, he had considered himself officially lost.

"This would've been so much easier if I had remembered to bring Wyvee along before just now..." Gry muttered under his breath as he began to press through the light crowd towards a cluster of building, hoping to find a landmark. "She's a spirit... Should know this like the back of her hand..."

"Excuse me, lad, but you seem a bit lost..." An older gentleman in a purple cloak holding a staff spoke. "Need some help finding your way?"

"Dark Sage..." Gry muttered under his breath. "No... No, I'm fine, thank you... I'm just..."

"Just visiting the spirit realm to figure out what your dueling lacks, no?"

"How'd y-?"

"Heh, you forget that I _am _theDark Sage? A little look-see into your mind is nothing for me..."

"Riiight... I'd appreciate it if you didn't read my mind anymore, so I'll be going..."

"Just whatever you do," Dark Sage added as Gry continued on his way. "Don't forget to believe."

Gry shook his head and continued walking, narrowly avoiding stepping on Key Mace in the process. From the looks of it, Gry had deduced that mostly Spellcaster and Warrior-type monsters lived in this village, but with his deck consisting almost entirely of Machine-type, it'd be a miracle if he found them here.

"Looks like there's the explanation behind the field cards..." Gry mused as he came to a stop in front of a large map billboard. All the namesof areas on the map resembled names of field cards. Gry glanced over each one, eventually coming to a stop to one about halfway down the map from where he was.

"Katyusha Crater..." he read. He pulled out his deck and grabbed the field card 'Battlefield Earth', a field spell unique to the 'Earth Defense Force' monsters he used. 'Battlefield Earth' was the only field spell he could think of that had such a large crater in it's picture, and surely enough, the picture on his card highly resembled the picture on the map.

"Are you sure you wanna go there, kid?" someone asked from behind, noticing Gry's finger still placed on Katyusha Crater on the map. "There are some places in this world where even I won't go, and that's definately one of them..."

"Hmm?" Gry turned around, noticing Marauding Captain standing behind him with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Unfortunately, I don't think I have any other choice... Where else would I find the EDF monsters except in the middle of a battle zone?"

"Just don't say I didn't warn you... The EDF's fight of recent have been much more vicious than usual... I watched Stardust Dragon and Ancient Fairy Dragon attempt to quell some of the fighting with their effects, but they were blown out of the sky in an instant. Stardust is still recovering...

Whoever the EDF is fighting must be giving them one hell of a run for their money... Rumors are flying around saying that the EDF have even requested backup from SMS... While I doubt I can convince you to not go, I will say stay vigilent..."


	9. Chpt 8: Meeting Quota

_**Chapter 8: Meeting Quota**_

"All ships reporting formation set, sir."

"Is that so..." the Fleet Admiral mused. "Athena, what are our numbers?"

"The fleet assembled consists of ourself, the destroyers _Gumrak, Rumbling, Illustria, Seraphim_,_ Rusalka _and _Kyrios_, the cruisers _Aigaion _ and _Karyu _and the electronic warfare ship _Andromeda_ for a total of ten ships."

"Ten ships versus the remainder of the First Fleet, plus Second thru Fourth fleets... Including 3 _Gotengo_-class Heavy Command Cruisers... I think we're just a _little_ out-numbered..."

"It's not too late to turn back now..."

"Yeah, but that would forever dishonor myself... I'd be a laughing stock... Not to mention, court-martialled and put in front of a firing squad for treason... Ah, I might as well start writing my will, no?"

"Don't say things like that... Without the Fleet Admiral, I- I-..." Athena began to choke up. The Fleet Admiral bent over in his chair so that his face was an inch away from the hologram.

"Athena, don't start this..." the Fleet Admiral sighed. "You're the most-advanced AI in the whole empire... I watched first-hand as you were programmed, while they did give you emotions, they didn't program in any tear ducts... So none of this faux crying, alright? Just because I'm writing my will doesn't mean I'm going to die...

"... P- Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise. We've fought worse than the Empress in one of her tantrums... I'm sure we'll make it through this easily."The Fleet Admiral sat back in his chair. "Now, back to that will... Athena, take note... To the Empress, if she survives this, I leave all unexploded ordinance in my weapons stockpiles... Fuses armed and safeties removed, of course... To the Vice-Empress, I leave my Lamborghini... after the brakes have been removed... I see her wreckless obsession with speed getting the best of her... And to Sora, I-... Shit..."

"Sora?" Athena cocked her head to the side with an inquisitive look. "That name is not registering in any of my databases..."

"... I guess the cat is out of the bag... at least between us..." the Fleet Admiral mused. "You would know Sora better by the callsign "Keystone of Laplace's Box"... She's... my daughter... and the only living family that I have left..."

"I can see why the Empress's actions provoked you so..."

"Well, yeah... Before it was "The Empire", I used to live in a country called Emmeria... We were always in some war, defending ourselves from the agressions of the neighboring Estovakia... The skies above Gracemeria were always on fire... Hell, the weatherman would even occasionally say it was "Partly cloudy with a chance of falling scrap metal"... To create a safe world for her to grow up in is why I went against my country and allied with the coup d'etat which lead to the reformation of Emmeria and we went on the offensive... But that offensive never stopped.

The Empresses greed grew the more her empire grew... First, Estovakia... Then the continent... Then the world... And now, multiple planets... Knowing her, I can tell you exactly why she had kidnapped Sora... We didn't meet the quota."

"Quota?"

"Yes, quota. Tell me, how many planets have we conquered in the last year?"

"If my records are correct, two, sir."

"Exactly... The Empress probably wanted at least 5, preferably 10... Since we didn't meet her expectations, this is the punishment... A punishment I'm not going to take lying down. Athena, have all ship's begin their advance. All ahead one-third."

* * *

Spirit Realm, Katyusha Crater

A thick haze covered Katyusha Crater as the crackle of rifle fire and explosions echoed throughout the air. Gry slowly peeked from behind the dirt mound, watching as a column of tanks drove by a few yards away.

"Steel Gunners..." he muttered under his breath. "Goddamn, the entire Earth Defense Force is here... What the hell are they fighting?"

"No one really knows..." A nearby voice mused. "Rumor is demons... Others say some sort of aliens..."

"Huh?" Gry looked to his right. Out of nowhere, a young girl no older than 10 years old had appeared next to him, peering over the same mound. She had pale skin, long platinum hair and strong, amber eyes. She wore what appeared to be a flight suit. On the shoulder of her uniform was a familiar symbol.

"Earth Defense Force..." Gry muttered as he stared at the symbol.

"That's right. 'Earth Defense Force - Miracle Child', or just 'Miria' as most call me."

"Miracle Child? Never heard of you..."

"Of course not," Miria snorted. A white and red VF-25 roared past, catching Gry's gaze.

"Because you don't trust the EDF enough..." Miria continued, "... Is why we had to ask SMS for assistance in this fight... Because of you... Onee-chan, Gotengo and the entire Force cannot reach their full potential... Your lack of true trust is why I have not appeared to you..."

"True trust? That can't be true, I trust Wy-"

"There is more to the Earth Defense Force than just Onee-chan! What about Garuda? Windhover? Steel Gunners? Kestrel? Gotengo? They all fight alongside Onee-chan, so they all deserve the same love and trust! That is why you can't win a duel! You don't trust us with all of your heart! Your deck is more than just a mere tool, it is a part of you! So love your deck as you love yourself and Onee-chan, and your deck will do the same in return.

Gry... I trust you... I would love to see the sunlight of your world... So, please... For me, for Onee-chan, for all of us... Just trust us, use us... and we will win and our true power will be yours in return..."

"Miria..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you... Really... I mean, I came here to find out why I couldn't win, but the truth is, the answer was inside of me all this time... And thanks to you, I could realize that... So, I promise that I will trust you... All of you... Just watch, we'll be unstoppable..." Miria began to blush a bit.

"Of course you know, I do expect you to keep that promise..."

* * *

Dimension XR3782, Lagrange Point 3, I-31 Low-Security Prison Satellite

"Dropship has returned, sir," Athena reported.

"Yeah, I noticed by all the radio chatter being kicked up by HQ," muttered Cmdr. Collier, Executive Officer of the Gotengo, as he furrowed his brow looking at the comms station. "What the hell happened down there? Did shooting the one guard set off a fleet-wide scramble order?"

"You could say something like that..." the Fleet Admiral replied as he burst through the door to the bridge. Trailing behind was a scared-looking girl, appearing to be approximately 16 years old. Shortly behind her came the four-man assault team that had helped the Fleet Admiral break her out of prison.

"Sir, what the-"

"Now's not a good time, Commander. Athena, I want this ship moving 5 minutes ago!" The Fleet Admiral took a deep breath. "Let's just say there was a trap, and I set it off. There's an entire fucking armada a short fold away, waiting for the distress signal from the cyborg guard when he got shot. By my estimate, they'll be here in maybe 30 seconds, so we need to hightail it out of here."

"... Papa?"

"Not now, Sora, I'm busy. Go sit in the captain's chair, I'll be with you in a bit. " Sora slowly wandered over to the chair and flopped down onto it's cushion, watching her father bark a chain of commands at the bridge crew. The Gotengo shuddered as the ship gained speed and slowly began to pull away from the satellite.

"You'll have to excuse your father right now..." Athena soothed as he hologram appeared on the captain's chair arm . "He's been under a lot of stress recently..."

"I know that, bu-but..." Sora mumbled. "But if an armada is coming here, then they don't intend to just talk it over... These ships will be fighting... Because of me... Many lives will be lost... Because of _me_..."

"Sometimes soldiers must fight to protect what they hold closest to their hearts, because there is no other option than to fight... You may not understand now, but one day you'll unde-" Athena paused and her eyes became the size of dinner plates. "Fleet Admiral, I'm registering 50-... no, 60 defold signatures off our bow!"

"Gotengo, all stop!" The Fleet Admiral watched as the entire forward view screen became covered in the pink defold portals. At the center of the formation, surely enough, were the three other _Gotengo_-class heavy command cruisers, _'Lorene', 'Essex' _and _'Atoragon'_.

"_Fleet Admiral_", the Empress's voice mused over the fleet-wide comm channel. "_I'd like the congratulate you on making it this far, rescuing that poor girl... Although she was probably better off where she was rather with a failure of a father who can't meet quota, then can't accept the graciously easy punishment I gave you by taking her away from you. I should've had you executed for your failure, but due to your military accomplishments, I decided to be nice... And yet this is how you repay me? I guess I was wrong... And now I am here to correct my mistake once and for all... Any last words before we annihilate you and your rag-tag fleet of traitors?_"

"Yeah, I got one thing," the Fleet Admiral replied as he glanced around the screen, watching a few of the enemy ships' engines begin to come to life. "Are you sure it was wise to announce what you had done on a fleet-wide channel?"

"_Hmm?_"

"... _This is missile-destroyer Pitomik of the glorious Imperial Navy! We cannot follow an Empress willing to stoop to such lows as this! Fleet Admiral, we will fight with you! All ships with any ounce of honor left in your blood, onwards with us to victory!_"

"New IFF signatures detected for destroyers _Pitomik_, _Yukikaze_, _Iolite_ and _Carruth_. Ship's accelerating towards our lines, no weapons armed... Energy spike detected onboard _Lorene_! Shot incoming." The _Lorene_'s hyper maser cannon, opened fire, striking the _Carruth_ midship. The energy beam ripped through the destroyers armor like butter, setting the reactor off, causing the ship to explode into a massive fireball. Energy reading began to go off the charts as the remaining ships loyal the Empress began to charge their weapons.

"I knew the hyper maser was powerful, but to take down an Imperial ship in one shot..." Gotengo's weapons officer, Lt. Dickens mused. "We have the best armor technology in the galaxy... Sir, with all due respect, I do not think fighting such one-sided numbers would be in our best interest..."

"Noted." The Fleet Admiral hated to admit it, but he would have to agree with Lt. Dickens. In a matter of minutes, his entire fleet would be wiped out by the three enemy heavy command cruisers, let alone the entourage of smaller vessels. "First fleet... I know this command will sound against my character, but Gotengo will be making an emergency fold... All ships follow our lead."

The Gotengo's engines came to life and the massive command cruiser lurched forward at an alarming pace, directly towards the enemy armada. A Fold portal was forcefully ripped open through the time-space continuum by the Gotengo's Fold drives. The rest of the renegade fleet followed, withering under the ensuing hail of energy weapons fired from the armada. _Iolite_, _Rumbling_, and _Karyu_ exloded in spectacular fireballs as they took direct hits to their reactors. As the fold portal closed, the amassing wreckage became apparent, but it appeared that the Gotengo had managed to slip away.

"Dammit!" the Empress swore. "Run a check now to trace their fold trajectory. Gotengo can run, but it can't hide..."


End file.
